Talking To You, Being With You
by prideaux
Summary: Peter and Mary Jane have a quiet chat about an old friend, and the way that they were, and the way they will be.


She came into the house and tossed her keys onto the table, then proceeded to kick off her shoes. It'd been a long day at work, and she just wanted to lie down. Idly, she noticed Peter's shoes and wondered why he hadn't turned on the lights. He wasn't anywhere to be seen. She walked up the stairs to their bedroom. It was empty.

She thought for a bit, then ascended to the attic. He was there, sitting by some old boxes.

"Peter?"

"I'm here, MJ."

"Why are you sitting there in the dark, honey?"

"Just wanted to be alone for a while."

"What's on your mind?" She asked, as she went over and snuggled up to him.

"I thought about him today."

"Who?"

"Harry."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, MJ. I'm okay."

"It's been months, you know."

"I know.

"Well, maybe you could try thinking less about him."

"I'm not flipping out or anything."

"I know."

"Yeah."

"So why'd you think of him, tiger?"

"I was just flipping through our yearbook. Gwen, Flash, you, Liz…and Harry. I was remembering what he was like before."

"You mean before he decided to dress up like a goblin and endanger the lives of every person within his immediate vicinity?"

"Yeah. I mean, before the drugs. Before Norman. Before – before Gwen."

"Are you okay, tiger?"

"Yeah, I'm just – remembering."

"You know you can't control everything."

"I was just thinking about him, that's all."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm kinda glad he's locked up with all the other crazy people."

"Come on, MJ. You know he had a lot to overcome."

"So did you and I, but we never put the blame on other people, did we?"

"That's true, but…"

"And putting his own wife and child in harm's way. Beating up Mark like that. God."

"Did you know he almost escaped from the Vault?"

"What? How did you know that?"

"Got a tip off from a S.H.I.E.L.D agent. I happened to be around the Avengers when he was with him. Seems he broke out of a harness designed to hold the Hulk."

"I never knew he was that strong."

"They didn't know what to do with him, so they ended up putting him in Doc Pym's House. I got so mad, MJ. I wanted to argue with him there and then. I wanted to tell him, what gives you the right to treat people like that? Even criminals deserve some respect. But then I thought about Liz, and little Norman, and Mark. And you. What he almost did to all of us. And I couldn't say anything. I just swung away."

"Well. Let's hope Harry stays there."

"Do you know what he said to me the last time? When he trashed the house and had me tied up?"

"What?"

"He said, 'I want you to hurt, the way that I have been hurt. I want you to know what pain is. And I want your heart to be broken.'

"God."

"I tried to reason with him. I told him, MJ has nothing to do with this. He kind of looked at me for a while. And he said, "Let me hurt you then. And I promise I won't hurt her'."

"Oh, Peter."

"As if I were responsible for everything that ever happened to him. As if I were the one who made him and his father put on that damn costume."

"Maybe insanity just runs in the family."

"I can never stop thinking. That I could have done more for him. If I'd noticed the drugs earlier, maybe gotten him some help. Maybe he might not have been poisoned by Norman's madness."

"And maybe you could have found a cure for AIDS too."

"You know what I mean, MJ. I could have done more."

"Oh, Peter. We've been through this before."

"I know, but…"

"You know what the thing about you is, tiger?"

"What?"

"You think you've let everybody down, when the fact is, there isn't anyone I know who has done more for the people he loves."

"MJ…"

"Peter. Do you remember what you said? After Harry ran off. Before you went after him."

"I don't remember. All I could think about was stopping him."

"You said, 'I won't let him hurt you or anybody else, MJ.' And just because you said it, I believed you. I never doubted for a moment that you would stop him."

"What made you so sure?"

"Because you always have."

"I don't know about that, MJ."

"Peter. Look at me."

"I don't know how you can have that kind of confidence in me."

"All the times when I sat alone, waiting for you to come home. I always knew you'd come back to me. Do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because I know you'd never leave me. Even when you were buried alive, you found a way back to me."

"I'm so sorry, MJ. I'm sorry about everything I've ever put you through…"

"Peter…everything I said to you on our wedding day is as clear as day in my head. And every single day, I take that vow again. 'I will take this man – this very special man – to be the most important thing in my life. Because I've realized that's exactly what he is'

"You know….I can even remember the exact way you said it."

"There's something else you should be aware of, Peter."

"What's that?"

"For all that's happened, the way I felt has never changed. Stop holding on to your guilt. And just know that I love you"

"I know."

They looked at each other, a good long time. They could feel each other thinking, looking back, and remembering how they first met. The secrets that had driven them apart at first, and then brought them together in the end. Finally, he smiled and drew her close again.

"I love you, MJ. I always have, and I always will."

"I know."

And they held each other.


End file.
